Keynote address delivered by the Premier of the Northern Cape, Mme Dipuo Peters, on the occasion of the launch of the Pixley Ka Seme District Growth and Development Strategy (DGDS) and the Youth Service Centre

Honourable Exec Mayor Pixley ka Seme District, Ms H Jenkins
Mayors and Councillors
Members of the Executive Committee present
Members of he Provincial Legislature present
Representatives of the organised labour
Representatives of the organised business
Representatives of community-based organisation (CBO) and non-governmental organisation (NGO) sector
Representatives of DFIs and state-owned enterprises (SOEs)
Officials of the national, provincial and local government
Ladies and gentlemen

It gives me great pleasure, on behalf of the Executive Committee, to proudly stand before you this evening and officially launch the Pixley ka Seme District Growth and Development Strategy (DGDS). This district was the first, in our province, to hold its summit and now is indicating its readiness and willingness to get on with the business of implementation by launching its strategy. In launching this strategy today, we are reconfirming our commitment to making the required impact on the lives of our people in the district of Pixley ka Seme. Accordingly, the municipality will implement this strategy with a view to improving the lives of all people that live within its jurisdiction.

Programme Director, as we all know, the development of the District Growth and Development Strategy is in response to the directive of the President of our country in his State of the Nation Address 2006, that all Districts and Metro's should hold growth and development summits that would ensure a collective and common definition of district municipality and metro development trajectory that will provide sustainable social and economic development at local level.

It is for this reason that we also refer to this strategy as a Long Term Growth and Development Strategy (LTGDS) of 10 to 20 years. The resulting strategy developed over a period of approximately 10 months to its adoption by Council, following an extensive consultative process; is aligned to the Northern Cape Provincial Growth and Development Strategy (NCPGDS) and expresses the hopes and aspirations of the stakeholders in the district.

All those that participated, did so with the common purpose and vision, that is to grow and develop this region to a state that has never existed in the district before. In so doing, contribute positively to reaching the targets of economic growth, halving unemployment and reducing poverty, targets we have set ourselves as a province and country. Furthermore, through the analysis of the IDPs, it is evident that the strategy has been used as a framework for the development of the district IDP and the alignment being sought is starting to become a reality.

This added benefit is the result of devoting sufficient time and effort to the planning process and consciously prioritising and targeting opportunities to be pursued. It also contributes to informing provincial and national government departments of the areas that they need to focus on for implementation to become a reality.

Ladies and gentlemen, approximately six months ago, at the District Growth and Development Summit, I referred to our Deputy Presidents' "announcement of government's plan to revitalise and renew the De Aar Railway network," a project that is also included in this strategy we are launching as one of the priorities of the district.

We have attempted, for many years, to attract an interest and support in this project at a national level and with stakeholders that would support its development, our efforts are about to bear fruit. Two months ago, I was invited to a presentation, here in De Aar, regarding this very project and the proposals with respect to it. This project being planned promises to bring with it many opportunities to benefit to the people in the district and address the challenges we face with respect to reducing unemployment and poverty.

At the summit, I also mentioned the selection of the Pixley ka Seme Municipality to participate in the Presidential Pilot Project on the application of the National Spatial Development Perspective (NSDP) in District and Metro's. This process has proved to be a fruitful one since many lessons have come to the fore during this process.

Through these deliberations and interactions with stakeholders: The district was made aware of the enormous investment in roads that is to occur in its jurisdiction over the next six-years, amounting to R1,3 billion, this being in the field of:
* routine road maintenance, grass cutting and surface repairs
* esurfacing
* rehabilitation

Through the strategic engagement and analysis matrix (SEAM) (an analysis tool used in the pilot project), sector departments could see areas where their inputs were required and who should be liaising with each other with respect to the development of projects. It facilitates the inter-departmental collaboration and integration of plans that we are striving to achieve since it could be seen as one of the tools to get projects and items on the strategic planning agenda in sector departments.

Programme director, these are but two of the projects unfolding in the district and I am sure that there are many others that district has prioritised and wants to attain within its jurisdiction. We need to remember though, that most of these projects will be located in local municipalities and even run across local municipalities, for example, roads to be rehabilitated are not confined to one local municipality, it traverses from one local municipality to the next. The need for alignment, once again is of paramount importance.

The local municipalities must assist and work in collaboration with each other and the district municipality to ensure that these projects come to fruition. The strategy is not cast in stone, it is a living document, keep it alive. Finally, I wish to reiterate the support from the provincial sector departments with respect to the implementation of the strategy.

Through our co-ordinated endeavours, let us ensure that the implementation of this strategy realises the vision of "A prosperous, unified, dynamic and developmental Pixley ka Seme District that is safe and secure with a better life for all." United in our effort, let us start the journey that will transform, what is now referred to as the poorest district in the province, to a socio-economically vibrant space within our beautiful and real Northern Cape.

I thank you.

Issued by: Office of the Premier, Northern Cape Provincial Government
31 May 2007